Merz Concedes AfD Victory Has Left His Party Shaken

Chancellor Friedrich Merz conceded Monday that the far right's election success has shaken his party "to its very foundations," while renewing his pledge to refuse to cooperate with the victorious Alternative for Germany. The AfD captured nearly 44% of the vote in Saxony-Anhalt's state election, finishing first and positioning itself to try to lead a regional government for the first time since the Nazi era. Merz called the outcome a shock to his conservative Christian Democrats but said he won't resign, Reuters reports. The AfD, which opposes immigration, backs closer ties with Moscow, and wants to end support for Ukraine, fell short of an outright majority, winning 39 of 83 seats.

That shortfall leaves AfD hunting for partners and testing Germany's long-standing "firewall" against working with the far right. National co-leader Tino Chrupalla is openly wooing CDU lawmakers to form what he calls a "center-right conservative majority," while the only party signaling readiness to partner is the left-wing BSW, which shares AfD's positions on Russia and migration. Merz framed the result as part of a broader contest with Moscow over Western values and vowed not to "deviate by even a millimeter" from backing Ukraine, even as alarm over the AfD's surge spreads to other nations.

The governing coalition of Merz's Union bloc and the center-left Social Democrats has developed a reputation for squabbling and become deeply unpopular, per the AP, as has Merz himself. The government has struggled to convince voters that it can get the country's chronically sluggish economy moving, through potentially painful changes, including to the pension system. Merz stressed Monday that fundamental reforms are needed. It's a question, he said, of "nothing less than the future of our country and the opportunities of our children and grandchildren, and we must not squander those. That is why my determination to continue the reform course is unbroken." Changes, Merz said, will need to be justified "not just rationally but also emotionally."